Flash Fanfiction - Episode 26 - Vibe and Frost Save the Day
by Reign Atkins
Summary: Since Barry lost his speed, and Astrid is in her coma, Caitlin and Cisco decide to take things into their own hands when it comes to saving Central City. Wally drank a copy of the speed serum that Harry took from the mirror verse, and now his life hangs in the balance.
1. Chapter 1

Wally sat in his room staring at the three vials in his hands as he sat on his bedroom floor. He had met Shawna Baez and her boyfriend at a party last night. He had overheard them speaking about breaking into STAR Labs, and remembering all the things that he had learnt on his tour, he knew that he could make all his dreams come true. He could become like the Flash.

But then they had been caught by the facility's AI. Gideon had even turned on the water pressure, which ended with the three of them being drenched from head to toe. But Shawna had managed to get them out of there before they were caught by the authorities.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. He hid the vials under his pillow and went to answer it. It was Iris. "Hi, Wally. I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me for breakfast, this morning. What do ya say? A little brother-sister bonding?" She asked him.

"Yeah. Just give me a moment to get ready!" Wally told her, he was excited to spend some time with his sister, but he couldn't let her know what he had done the night before. But, before he could close the door, Barry had joined her.

"Wally, can we talk in private? It's kind of important!" Barry sounded serious.

"Actually, I was about to go out to breakfast with Iris… Can it wait?" Wally asked him nervously.

"It's really important, it's about STAR labs!" Barry said.

"Ohh… What's this about STAR Labs?" Iris asked, keen to get a story out of the two of them, for work.

"Iris, please… can you give us a moment?" Barry asked her, he was concerned for Wally's welfare and didn't want Iris to know what was going on.

Wally used this to his advantage. "Barry, whatever you need to discuss with me, I'm certain that it would be important enough to say in front of Iris." Wally said, trying to bluff him

"Wally… You know what this is regarding… do you really want me to tell her?" Barry tried to reverse the trick.

Wally gave in, "fine! Come in, Barry." He said. He closed his bedroom door, leaving Iris on the outside.

"Wally, we know that you broke into STAR Labs last night. I'm giving you the chance to return what you stole before I get Joe involved." Barry said as a warning.

"How do you know that it was me?" Wally asked him.

"Gideon, our AI identified you as one of the thieves." Barry replied. "Now, please… hand them back."

Wally gave in and went to his pillow where he had stashed the three vials, though he only pulled out two and handed them to Barry, leaving the last one hidden.

Barry stared at the vials. "Whatever you had planned with these… it's highly dangerous. Ingesting these could have killed you!" he said to Wally.

"Yeah, I know… I know… don't drink the poisons." Wally said to shut him up.

"Thank you for doing the right thing, Wally." Barry said, as he placed the vials into his backpack and left the room. When Barry stepped out into the hallway, he saw that Iris was still hanging around. She had been listening in.

"Did you get anything exciting for your story?" he asked her, annoyed that she had been eavesdropping.

"Not really… I'm just waiting for Wally so we can go out for breakfast." she replied.

Barry shook his head, and left. He had to walk all the way back to STAR Labs as he still hadn't gained his powers back. He and Cisco had plans to change that situation, that day.

"I've got the vials, Caitlin!" Barry said as he entered the cortex, handing them to her.

"Oh, thank god!" Caitlin replied, taking them from him. "It's all my fault, if only I hadn't have given him that tour! I don't know what I would have done if he had drunk them. You'll need to talk to him, Barry… I think his obsession with the Flash is taking a new turn."

"Yeah, I will. I'll never forgive myself if he does anything else like this. I don't want him to get hurt, either!" Barry said.

They looked over at Cisco who hadn't left Astrid's side since they had returned. He looked tired, but he wasn't going to move from his spot, even to sleep.

"No change since last night?" Barry asked Caitlin.

"No change," she replied shaking her head. "The medical team went over her and, while she is stable… I fear that Harry might be right. I'm scared that there could be some considerable brain damage. That's if she even wakes up. I wish that she had your power of healing."

"But, I thought that she could heal quicker than a regular person, anyway." Barry said, remembering a few times that her wounds had only taken a few hours to do so.

"Her healing was magnified, but it was never to your extent… and it's nowhere near as strong. So, her recovering from this… it's going to be difficult."

Barry nodded, wishing that there was something that he could do. Caitlin seemed to know what he was thinking, she handed Barry a coffee to give to Cisco.

With the cup in hand, Barry made his way over to the medical bay and handed Cisco the coffee. He said 'thankyou' in a mumbled whisper and took a sip. "It's funny…" he said, "she was telling me that she was cursed… I'd hate to have seen our wedding!" he tried to stifle a laugh, as he held Astrid's hand.

"How are you coping?" Barry asked him.

"I could be better… but then, I could also be worse. I just wish that I had her powers of telepathy... Do you remember her speaking to you, when you were in your coma?" he asked looking up at Barry.

"She spoke to me?" Barry asked him, he couldn't remember either one of his comas. "No, I don't."

"Damn, it was worth a shot. She said that you were able to describe where you were to her. She even told you not to go in to the light." Cisco laughed, remembering the moment. Cisco looked back at Astrid and remembered another thing that she had told him. Something that she had said back on earth 2.

"Hey, Barry… Astrid was convinced that Harry was hiding something from her… Would you know anything about that?" he asked.

Barry knew what DR Wells was hiding. The truth was that Kent Nelson was Astrid's father, and not Robert Sutherland. But he couldn't divulge that information. Not now, and not like this.

He shrugged his shoulders. "No, I'm not sure. Maybe, you should ask him." He suggested.

"I will later..." Cisco said, but then he changed his tone. "But, right now we need to get your powers back, Barry. And I need a distraction, so let's get to work." Cisco got to his feet, ready to give Barry the emotional support needed to prove his doppleganger's theory; that Barry had the Yips.


	2. Chapter 2

DR Wells had locked himself in his office, since they had returned. He had not yet chosen to use the vial of speedster speed on Barry as of yet. He was using it as a last resort.

"I was wondering when you would show up again. You should help her." He said to the blue and gold hero standing by his desk. He was still wearing his helmet.

"I cannot help with this matter. You must know that!" DR Fate said, his voice filled with that chilling echo.

"What do you mean that you can't help? She's your daughter, and it wouldn't have been the first time that you would have bent the rules for her!" Harry said as he stood up and raised his voice.

"She is Kent Nelson's daughter. I am DR Fate. I have not been tasked to assist at this time. This will be her test, to see if she survives. If she passes we will know that she is strong enough for what is to come her way."

"…and if she fails?" Harry asked.

"You already know the answers."

"She dies, or she is mentally altered, permanently." Harry said. "This was my fault. I caused this, but tell me… Will Barry get his speed back?" Dr Fate refused to answer.

"You're telling me, that you came here just to rub my nose in all of this?" Harry asked.

"I came to tell you that you have been relieved from your role as World Walker." DR Fate said.

"Why would they send you? You're not even connected. It doesn't make any sense."

Dr Fate didn't give him an answer, he just left. Harry threw his tablet at the door in anger. It made a loud crash and shattered onto the floor.

Caitlin rushed in. she had clearly heard the noise. "Is everything okay, Harry?" she asked him.

"Everything's fine, Caitlin!" he snapped at her. Caitlin looked down at the broken tablet on the floor and then looked back at him. "Sure… fine… I'll just leave you alone, then." She said with a hint of sarcasm, as she walked back out the door again, shutting it behind her.

Caitlin left to go back over Astrid's vitals. There was still no change on her friend. She knew that she was hoping for a miracle, but she would continue to hope for as long as she needed to.

She glanced over at the news report on the television on the wall. So far, Central City was still in the dark about Astrid, Caitlin was determined to keep it that way. She knew that it was what her friend would want.

She glanced over to watch Cisco directing Barry to run on his cosmic treadmill. He still didn't have his powers yet. She made her way towards them, directing her attention on to Cisco.

"I've been thinking, maybe Frost and Vibe should take over protecting Central City with the way things are at the moment. Firestorm is currently MIA, so we're the only heroes left in the city." She told him.

"That's probably a good idea. I don't think our Flash would be able to be there in a flash, if Central City needed him to be. It would be false advertisement!" Cisco replied, with a semi smirk.

"Cisco, that would be the least of our worries, in an emergency." Caitlin said sternly.

"It was a joke… a poor one… Not Cisco grade, I know… but, it's hard to come up with good jokes, right now."

"I'm sorry. I know… but we need to focus." Caitlin said. He took a breath and waved Barry over to them.

Barry stopped running, he was out of breath, so Caitlin handed him the water bottle that had been sitting on the table. He drank it thirstily.

Barry put the drink down and kissed Caitlin as Cisco walked away awkwardly. "It's so weird seeing him this upset." Barry said.

"I know. But we have other things to discuss right now. Cisco and I are going to stand in for the Flash, while you don't have your powers." Caitlin said.

"So, what do I do?" Barry asked.

"You direct us. You stand at that computer over there and give us coordinates, locations and tips… just as Cisco would do for you!" Caitlin explained to him.

"Caitlin… I'm not sure if I like this idea, normally I'm there with you… to protect you… Sending the two of you out there where you could both get hurt… I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost either one of you. I don't know what Astrid would do either… actually, I do know… She'd probably kill me!" Barry said.

Cisco returned back to them, at hearing Astrid's name. "But you're not sending us, Barry!" he said, "We are sending ourselves. Besides, when you and her were under that Aphrodite love spell, who do you think took over the ass-kicking? We did! Frost and I did an awesome job! Plus, after my training in Gotham City, I've certainly picked up a few skills! What do you say? Provided you don't hurt my baby over there… I see this going down very well…"

"Why would I hurt Astrid?" Barry asked him confused.

Caitlin broke out into a fit of laughter, "he was talking about his computer… don't break his computer!"

"Oh! That makes a lot more sense!" Barry said, embarrassed.

"But, while we're on that topic… Look after her for me, Astrid that is!" Cisco added.

"Always, pal." Barry replied. Suddenly, the emergency alert went off.

Cisco and Caitlin grinned at each other… "Here's our shot to be more than just overrated sidekicks, with kickass names!" Cisco said.

Caitlin had just let Frost take over, "OH, I was never a sidekick!" she said.


	3. Chapter 3

"Bring me the Flash!" a man yelled out to the crowd of frightened people who were gathered in the busy street, that Vibe and Frost had breached to.

The man was holding up a crowbar and threatening people with it. "I thought it was supposed to be an emergency… that..." Vibe said pointing over at the man, "...is just a crazy man with a walking stick!"

The two of them made their way across the street to try and reason with the guy. "hey, man." Vibe began, "don't you think you've scared these poor folks enough?… Why don't you put the… crowbar down?" he had realized at that moment that he had been mistaken by calling it a walking stick.

The man stared at he and Frost. They were both wearing their full costumes, including Cisco's goggles.

"Heh heh… Who are you? The Flash's sidekicks?" he laughed at them.  
"Just put the crowbar down, and stop scaring all these fine people... and for your information, no… we're not sidekicks! We're his super cool friends!" Vibe said. Frost began ushering the crowds to move along.

Cisco stared up at the man, he was huge and he looked very strong, and as he stood at full height, Cisco felt a little intimidated. The man was mocking him.

Cisco raised his hand, ready to shoot a vibrational blast of energy, if necessary. He was trying to determine if and when the man would swing the crowbar at him.

"er… Vibe!" Frost said.

"Not now, Frost... I'm trying to reason with the man…" Cisco said.

"You might want to check out his weapon." Frost said.

Cisco looked up at the crowbar, just as it was being swung in his direction. The crowbar itself, had burst into flame.

Vibe ducked. "Frost… A little help?" he asked in a high pitched voice. Frost shot an ice blast for the crow bar, just as the crowbar was thrown in her direction. As if it had a mind of its own, it dodged the ice blast. It was headed for her, so she got to the floor, creating an ice wall, as a defense.

The crowbar hit the ice wall and shot back into the man's hands. He held it over his head, ready to knock Cisco senseless.

"That's not sounding good, Cisco," Barry's voice carried into Cisco's communicator, "What's going on?"

"This hombre' has one super powered - super fired up crowbar… any tips?" Cisco asked him. The crowbar was still on fire.

"Super-powered - super fired crowbar?" Barry wondered out loud. "Yeah? don't let it hit you!"

"Yeah, that's a little easier said that done!" Cisco shot back.

The man stared down at Cisco, he swung the crowbar at the breacher. Cisco created a breach to the left of him and rolled into it, just in time to miss the impact.

He exited another breach right behind the man and shot a vibrational blast into his back… "Hey Crowbar, heads up!" Vibe called out as the blast had an impact.

As the man turned to face him, the crowbar turned to ice, and the stream of ice ran down the man's arm so he could no longer move it. Frost stood beside the man, marveling her icy handiwork.

"Hey, Vibe… why don't we breach this guy to prison?" Frost called out to Cisco.

"Done and…" he said as formed another breach behind the man. Cisco shot a vibrational blast that pushed the man into the breach, which led right into a locked holding cell at CCPD, surprising the officers on duty. "…done." Cisco said with a giant smirk.

"Call me impressed!" Barry said, "you guys did it!"

"We kicked ass!" Cisco said with a grin as he breached he and Frost back to STAR labs. He high fived Frost and added, "man, your hands are as cold as ice!"

"You guys did a great job! You called the man Crowbar, Cisco?" Barry asked.

"Well, actually, i was telling the crowbar 'heads up' but I think that it's safe to say, that his name can be Crowbar too." Cisco replied.

Barry nodded, just as his phone rang. It was Joe, so he answered it.

"Hi, Joe! Did you get our delivery at CCPD? Cisco and Caitlin breached a villain into pri..." Barry was cut off by Joe alerting him to an emergency. Wally was in hospital. He had ingested an unknown chemical.

"Joe… I understand, I'll be right over!" Barry replied.

He ended his call with Joe and requested that Cisco breach him to the hospital as soon as possible.

"You guys go ahead. I'll stay here with Astrid." Caitlin said "At least I can contact the speed team and find out if they know what he might have taken, and how to help him."

Caitlin ran across the cortex to Astrid's bed, as Barry and Cisco breached across town. "Gideon, can you find out if Wally West has taken anything else, that hasn't been returned?" Caitlin asked.

"Don't bother!" Harry said as he exited his office. "I know what Wally took." Harry had the look of anger across his face, mixed with frustration.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Caitlin asked, she placed her hands on her hips waiting for him to explain.

"When we were in the mirror verse, I just so happen to haven taken this from your mirror selves." He held out a vial of liquid form, speedster speed. It was half full.

"Harry… this is…" Caitlin began, as she took the vial from him.

"It's the speed of eight different speedsters, yes, I know… and the vial that Wally took was an altered strain that I was working on… a copy of the solution." Harry explained.

"Why would you have this? Why haven't we given it to Barry, already? Harry, he could get his speed back!" she said excited.

"We don't have the time for me to answer questions… but what I must express, what I must make clear, is that with Wally drinking this… he could in fact die… or he could become a speedster himself. But that much speed coursing through his veins when he has never so much as been in contact with the speedforce, is not something that we should handle lightly. We need to bring him here immediately." Harry said.

Caitlin sighed and took a breath. This chemical was even stronger than what the STAR Labs teams were working on, and if Iris got ahold of this piece of information, STAR Labs could be exposed.

Nonetheless, Wally's life was in danger. "I'll call Barry!" Caitlin said, "I'll get him to bring Wally over, right away."


	4. Chapter 4

"Joe, we need to bring Wally over to STAR Labs, as soon as possible. Caitlin just rang and they know what it was that Wally ingested." Barry whispered to Joe as he and Cisco met with the detective in the hospital.

"Barry. This is unbelievable. Why is it, that every time one of my kids ends up in a coma, they always end up at STAR Labs? What does STAR Labs have to do with any of this, anyway?" Joe asked. He was angry and concerned at the same time.

Barry had to tell Joe what Wally had done. "Wally was a part of a group that broke into STAR Labs. He stole a couple of vials of my DNA along with a copy of my speed. That's what he's ingested."

"Are you serious!" Joe yelled.

"Hey, man…" Cisco tried to comfort the detective, "I know you're mad. But, we can help him."

Joe stared at Cisco, "Do you expect me to believe you? You lot can't even get Astrid out of her coma. Every time anyone gets mixed up with you all…" Joe snapped at him.

Cisco took a deep breath, but remained quiet.

"Joe!" Barry interrupted him, "They're just trying to help… and I know that you're angry right now… but I trust them with my life… and you should too. We don't have much time…"

Joe apologized to Cisco and begun the documentation to sign Wally over to STAR Labs. Cisco didn't wait for Barry and Joe, he breached right back to STAR Labs and returned to the cortex in a huff, smashing some of his own equipment across the wall.

"Cisco, what's going on? Are you okay?" Caitlin asked him.

"Joe's right! Everyone around us either dies or gets badly injured. What are we doing, here Caity? When Robert Sutherland founded this place… it was to stop death and disease and move the future onwards… Don't you remember? Now look around us… Ronnie's dead… and Astrid… well… she's..."

"Cisco! Astrid, won't die!" Caitlin said to him.

"Yeah, but that's not the worst of it. You said yourself that if she comes back, she could come back… not the same! I don't know what I'd do. We both know her well enough to know that, she would always want to be in control of her own mind… So, what are we doing here?" Tears were in his eyes. "I can't lose her… and I can't… I can't lose who she is!"

Caitlin gave him a hug and comforted him, "There was something that Dr Stein told me once… maybe twice…" she began, "He said when we have done everything that we can do medically, scientifically… there's one thing left, and that's to have faith. Astrid will pull through. We both know it, and I'm guessing she knows it too. She's probably in her coma working out a plan to come back to us… to come back to you, Cisco. So let's not lose our heads, so we can be there when she returns."

Cisco let go of Caitlin and wiped his tears away. "Wow, that last bit sounded like something that she would say."

"Yeah, I thought that you would pick up on that." Caitlin said with a laugh, "So, tell me what's going on with the Wally situation?"

"Joe's signing Wally over to us… so I pray to god that you have a plan." Cisco said.

"Caitlin doesn't... but I do." Dr Wells said as he entered the cortex.

"I'm surprised you've finally graced us with your presence, Harry." Cisco replied.

"I assure you, Ramon. I have been working on a way to help Barry and Astrid." Harry said.

"Just as you mysteriously knew what it was that Wally ingested… How do you only ever know the information when it comes to the final crunch? When it's most dire… is that your way of keeping us all in suspense and coming in to save the day at the la…" Cisco's pestering was interrupted by Caitlin.

"Cisco… Harry knows what Wally ingested. It was an altered strain of a chemical that he took from the mirror verse." Caitlin explained.

"but the only chemical that was available in the mirrorverse was…" Cisco began, but then he realized. "Man, mirror me is gonna be soo pissed at you! But help me work this out… How the hell, would you alter and copy the DNA of speedsters… how did you do all that?"

"I will answer those questions all in due time… Remember, I'm a World Walker, Ramon. So, the answers to those questions are all very menial in the scheme of things." Harry said.

"Yeah… I don't even get any of that! And here we are... we're still waiting on answers… Like who's your boss?… and… one question that Astrid was dead set on finding out, before she… well… you know. What were you hiding?"

"Cisco, please… this isn't the time." Caitlin said.

"Thank you, Dr Snow." Harry replied.

"Let me finish…" Caitlin interrupted him, "...while this isn't the time for these questions… Harry will need to answer them, after, we find out how to help out Wally."

Cisco grinned at Harry, "I'll be waiting." He said, as he walked backwards facing Harry, making his way to Astrid's bedside.


	5. Chapter 5

A whirling of grey energy surrounded Astrid. She was lost on an endless path. She couldn't see past the grey abyss. But she could hear screams and voices all around her. Some were familiar, the voices of her past and of her present. But there were some that she didn't know.

It was as if she were lost within her own mind. She heard the voice of a man pleading for someone to take his child. For them to love the child as if she were their very own. There was an eerie familiarity to the voice that she could not determine. Astrid continued to walk, hoping that she would find her way.

She heard the voice of her mother, the voice of her father. Then as they disappeared again she could hear the voices of her friends. Cisco, assuring her that everything would be alright. Caitlin talking to her about somebody's vitals. And then she heard Barry's voice, telling her that she was an inspiration.

She remembered most of these conversations. Was she sleeping? She needed to wake up. She told herself to wake up. Just as she could hear her friends telling her to wake up.

But then the grey abyss disappeared. She found herself dragged and sitting bound to a chair. The chair was bolted to a grey narrow metal platform. She looked down, the platform was elevated, she was up high in a cold place that she could not recognize.

But then there was someone standing beside her, they wore a surgical mask. It was a man that she recognized very well. It was her father, Robert Sutherland. But he was not the father she knew. He was possessed by something, but she couldn't determine what or who.

He brought a scalpel to her arm, cutting her. He held a vial to her blood collecting it. "What do you want from me?" She screamed out. "Let me go!" But he refused to answer. She screamed out for help, but nobody came.

Caitlin strapped Wally to the second medical bay bed and went over his vitals with Harry's assistance.

"Barry said something about Wally ingesting a vial that contained Barry's DNA…" Joe said to Caitlin.

"There's a little more to it than that…" Caitlin said, "we believe that he may have ingested the speed and DNA of multiple speedsters. So I intend on doing everything in my power to help him."

"Multiple speedsters? How did he get a hold of that? Look, forget I asked… Just help him, please!" Joe begged. He was alerted to his phone ringing. It was Iris trying to find out how Wally was doing.

"I better take this, its Iris." Joe said.

"Please, don't tell her anything that will make a good story for the newspaper… or bring on any attention on to STAR Labs." Caitlin pleaded.

"I promise, Caitlin." He said as he put up his hand to excuse himself.

"So, what do you propose we do?" Caitlin asked Harry.

"We continue to monitor the speed going through his body. There's not a lot that we can do… If it works, then Wally will become a speedster." Dr Wells said.

"Woah woah woah… Man, you're even colder than Frost herself!" Cisco said as he interrupted the two. "You're proposing that we do nothing… Wasn't it your idea to bring him here? And you're saying that we just monitor him? I'm not a doctor, here… but if I were, I would be looking at this as a chance to create an anti-speed solution. What do you think, Snow?"

"I think that might actually work… if we can study the chemical compound itself, then maybe we can look at a way to slow down the process that the chemical is doing on his body…" Caitlin said. She left to get to work, and Cisco smirked at Dr Wells. "So much for waiting and seeing." He said with a grin.

"Cisco, for a smart man… You're not all that bright… if this chemical works, we would have a way to get Barry's speed back, which right now is something that we're meant to be working on, unless you've forgotten." Harry said.

Cisco stared at him, "and if it doesn't work… and it kills Wally… well than… that just shows that you have no heart. Which has me wondering, why you're even still here." DR Wells shook his head slowly and headed towards his office.

"You and Harry are having a lot of trouble seeing eye to eye, at the moment aren't you?" Barry said to Cisco.

"What can I say? The guy's a dick! Let's go work on getting your speed back."

Cisco led Barry back over to the cosmic treadmill and Barry started running.

"Come on, Barry!" Cisco called out, "Think about Wally in the situation that he's in… think about Astrid… They both could die if you don't get your speed back! Come on, Barry! Run Barry, Run!"

Barry kept running and running. He felt himself growing faster and faster… But then there was no lighting, there was no speed. He just fell.

"Ouch! A little help?" he asked.

"Sure," Cisco said, giving him a hand. It was useless.

"So, I had a theory…When Frost shoots particles of ice, it freezes the Flash's cells in place, slowing them down. So, on that thought I synthesized a chemical that contains a mixture of my own cells with the speed cells… the speed cells stopped phasing…" Caitlin said, holding up a glass vial of blue liquid, as she made her way to Barry and Cisco, after about half an hour.

"So, what you're saying is that if you and Barry ever had a baby… it wouldn't be a speedster…" Cisco joked. Barry and Caitlin stared at him awkwardly.

"Sorry, wrong time for those sorts of jokes." Cisco replied.

"No, what I'm saying is that, it counteracted the speed… I might have the cure for Wally!" Caitlin said with a smile.

"Well done, Caitlin!" Dr Wells said as he reemerged, "I'll help you deliver it to him."

"Oh no no no no no!" Cisco replied. "That guy is not to be trusted with a job like this!"

To his disappointment the emergency alert went off.

"Cisco… you and Caitlin deal with that… I'll ensure that Harry is good on his word. We need to trust him!" Barry said.

"You're sure about this?" Cisco asked him, he then glared at Harry.

"Cisco, I'll handle it. I wouldn't let him hurt Wally." Barry said.

"Okay, let's roll, Frosty!" Cisco said as he ran to collect his suit.

"Woo!" Caitlin called out as she followed after him, turning into Frost at the same time.


	6. Chapter 6

Frost and Vibe arrived at CCPD, where Captain Singh informed them of the current crisis. Apparently the criminal from earlier; Crowbar, whose real name was Malcom Tandy, had escaped from the prison holding cells.

"Really? We hand you a guy and you just let him escape?" Cisco joked.

"Cisco, not the time." Frost said, "Captain Singh… it looks as if you're holding out on us. You need to be entirely honest if you expect our help."

"We need the Flash and Astrid." Singh said. "This man, Malcom…"

"Crowbar…" Cisco corrected.

"This man, Malcom Tandy has an accomplice, by the name of John Malone, and the two of them are wreaking havoc on Central City, they were last seen on Kester. The pair of them are very dangerous…"

"Well, unfortunately both the Flash and Mind Marvel are currently dealing with some rather pressing matters." Frost said, "So Vibe and I will get the job done."

She and Cisco stood up and Vibe created a breach in the middle of the captain's office.

"Please be careful." Singh said, "I'll send my officers as backup… You're going to need them."

Frost and Vibe arrived on the corner of Kester to find the two men terrorizing crowds. Crowbar was dressed in something that a laborer would generally wear, while his friend was dressed in what looked like a full yellow baseball uniform.

"Frost, you take care of Crowbar… I'll focus on the new guy!" Vibe said.

The two of them ran to deal with their opponents. Frost shot projectiles of ice, sealing Crowbar in an icy chamber. While Cisco shot a projectile blast at the man in the yellow outfit.

"Hey, nice color suit!" Vibe called out. "It reminds me of another guy… who's ass I kicked."

"You wanna go? Well, let's play ball!" John Malone said back to him, as he picked up a metal sphere and threw it in Cisco's direction at full pelt.

"Crap!" Cisco said as he ducked. "What is it with you and your friend throwing things?"

"I guess that was Strike 1!" John Malone said, "My bad!"

As Cisco got back up to his feet, the man threw another. "Get ready to run!" He said to Cisco.

"Woah, man. I don't run from a fight… anymore! That's not my thing… I breach, you know…" Cisco said.

As he said the word 'breach' he opened up a portal, which the metal ball went through.

"Hey Vibe," Frost called out, "Where does that breach lead to?"

Cisco shrugged, and said, "Strike 2?" as Malone threw another ball.

"Get ready for strike three!" Cisco called out as he opened another breach with full intention where to send this one. Once again the ball went through.

"You stole my line, man!" Malone said.

"…and I'm about to win the game!" Vibe said with a grin. Just as he had said it, the breach opened just behind John Malone, releasing the two metal spheres which came pelting straight for the man, knocking him in the back and bringing him to the floor.

"Now, that's what I call, a Fastball!" Cisco said.

He looked over at Frost, she was adding more ice to the makeshift chamber that Crowbar was caught in. "Do you really need to make a game out of every fight, Vibe?" she asked him.

"Well, that just makes it all the more fun, Frost." He said.

Frost shook her head at him, just as the officers arrived onto the scene.

"You guys did it!" Captain Singh said.

"Yep, feel free to ask for our autographs…" Cisco said, loving the attention. "But you might want to cuff those guys, first."

As the officers apprehended the men, they noticed the bracers that seemed to wielded to their wrists.

"Hey, Captain… these bracers don't look like they're coming off." One of the officers said as he attached the meta-human cuffs to Crowbar's wrists.

"We'll see what we can do back at the station." Captain Singh said, "We'll be careful. Something tells me that these guys aren't just some simple meta-humans."

Vibe and Frost stared at each other. This was a concerning thought.

"It's time for us to be on our way, now!" Cisco said as he created a breach, "But if you ever need help… never fear… Vibe will be…" Before he could finish his sentence, Frost dragged him through the breach.

"Hey, I was that close to having the last say!" Cisco said as they got back to STAR Labs.

"We have much more important things to deal with right now." Frost said as they made their way towards Barry and DR Wells in the cortex.

"What's the issue, you guys?" Barry asked them.

"Harry… what do you know about the Cadre?" Frost asked. "As a World Walker, you should know something. Malcom Tandy mentioned it and I felt that you might know something. He gave in too easily."

"I've never heard of it… but I can see what I can find out." Harry replied.

Caitlin took over her body and gave Barry a passionate kiss. "I missed you, have you had any luck with Wally?" she asked him.

"I missed you too... and I was worried about you... and actually…" Barry began, as he held her in his arms.

"They helped me." Wally said, as he and Joe appeared from behind Barry. "Unfortunately, I didn't get any powers. But now I know that Cisco and Caitlin are both heroes. Just as I know who Barry really is."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Caitlin asked him

"Nah, your secret is safe with me… and relax, I won't tell Iris either, under one condition…" Wally replied.

"Wally, these guys helped you…" Joe said, "They saved your life."

"Yeah, I get that… that's why I want to help them. Whatever I can do to help the Flash… to help Central City, I want in… That's my condition! Even if it is just pushing papers on the ground floors." Wally said.

"You want us to give you a job here?" Cisco asked him, removing his jacket and goggles, "I guess we can always set you up with an internship. But no hero work… it's pretty dangerous out there…"

"Deal." Wally said, he gave Barry and Cisco a high five.

"Welcome to the team, Wally. But please, don't make us regret it." Caitlin pleaded.

"I won't… and I'm sorry," Wally apologized.

"Well, I don't think that we need Astrid's mindreading abilities to know that that is a sincere apology." Barry said.

"Wait, Astrid can read minds too?" Wally asked.

"She sure can," Cisco said, as he made his way to Astrid's bed to continue watching over her. "So, you better be honest with us."

"Oh I am…" Wally said, truly. "I'll even help you bring in Peek-a-boo and her boyfriend. I understand that there is a city manhunt for the two."


	7. Chapter 7

In Astrid's mind, the thing who had taken over her father's body had continued to torture her, over and over. She had long stopped screaming out for help. She had been cut all over and had felt the pain of every one of them. Her powers had been dampened so she could not manipulate him to free her.

But now he was now gone. She must've had passed out, and woken back up. She felt dizzy and her world was spinning. As she looked down at her bloodied arms, she saw that her wrists had somehow become free. As had her feet.

She was confused, and as she stood up, a little wobbly, she saw just how high the metal platform was up in the air. Deep down below there was nothing but molten lava. The heat was unbearable, causing her to sweat, into her wounds all over her face and body.

There was little room to move around, and one slip would have her falling into an endless fiery abyss below. But on the side of her chair was a makeshift, weak metal ramp leading to another platform.

She tried to steady herself as she followed the rusty, narrow metal bridge. It buckled under her feet making her wobble. She gasped, and retook her balance.

She remembered the time that she had walked the plank of wood heading towards the rooftop of the bank to help Barry from Captain Cold and Heatwave. She remembered Cisco's words. 'Count your steps'. She estimated the steps it would take. There was roughly twelve steps to take. She counted down each step.

As she got to the ninth step, she felt the bridge begin to give out. So she ran the rest of the way, just reaching the platform before the bridge fell to the abyss below.

The platform that she was now on was hot concrete, nonetheless, it was stable. She fell to the floor, still in pain and still just as dizzy as before. She was covered in the dried blood and sweat. She wondered who would have freed her, but as she saw a door up ahead, she had no time to care. This was her chance to escape. It was make or break. She heard the voice of someone from behind her, there had been no one there when she had left the chair, she knew it. She had to make her ecscape. She jumped to her feet, still so wobbly and ran towards the door.

The being behind her was chasing her. She wasn't sure how, considering the bridge had collapsed, and she didn't want to know. She ran towards the door. She felt as if she were drunk, as she wobbled all the way towards the door. But finally, she reached it. She placed her hand on the handle, willing it to open. Thankfully, it did, so she stepped through, closing the door behind her. The moment it closed, she heard a loud bang on the door. But no one stepped out after her.

She gained her composure, her heart beating in her chest as she looked around at her surroundings. A black footpath at her feet. The rest of her surroundings made her feel like she was stuck in an old black and white movie. She had no choice but to follow the footpath in front of her.

After Wally and Joe had gone home, Barry had some disappointing news for the group. He told them as he, Caitlin and Cisco were sitting around Astrid's bedside. "Iris came to visit Wally. She saw Astrid in her coma!" he exclaimed. It was now just after eight at night.

Caitlin and Cisco both groaned, "Well, I suppose that it couldn't be hidden forever." Caitlin said sadly, "Let's just hope that she doesn't write another article about us. We don't need the attention right now."

"We can only hope." Cisco said as he rested his head on the side of Astrid's bed, he was holding her hand and was struggling to stay awake.  
"You should go home and get some rest, Cisco." Barry said, "When was the last time you got some sleep?"

"Two nights ago? I think…" he said. "I can always sleep here. There's a bed right there."

"Cisco, this isn't good for your health." Caitlin said.

"Well, we still need to figure out a way for Barry to get his speed back… maybe we should just use that vial of Harry's… and What if Astrid wakes up and I'm not here?" Cisco asked with a yawn.

"Go home, Cisco!" Caitlin said. "…and go to sleep! I'll stay here and keep watch tonight… We've done well today, and chances are we'll need to be at full strength tomorrow."

"You better listen to her," Barry said.

"Okay, okay… I'll go home…" Cisco said, as he created a breach, "…but if she wakes up… you guys better call me!" he stepped through the breach and it disappeared behind him.

"You know… this is the first time we've been alone here in a while." Barry said to Caitlin.  
"We're not alone. Harry's in his office." She replied.

"I know… but there was something I wanted to talk to you about… something that happened on Earth 2." Barry said.

"What happened?" Caitlin asked him, giving him her full attention.

"Earth 1's Iris kissed me." Barry said.

Caitlin stared at him, her heart stopped. "Barry – I…" she began.

"No, Caitlin, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. When she kissed me, even though I saw her as Iris from our world, at first… I pushed her away. My first response was to get her off of me. I was too busy thinking about you, and about how much I really love you. And then when I was speaking to the Earth 1 version of you, it made me think… just how much you really have loved me since the beginning." Barry explained.

"Barry… yes, that's true. Did you really push Iris away?"

"I did, Caitlin. I surprised myself too, and I thought that you should know that." He put his arm around her and she nuzzled into him.

"I love you, Barry Allen." She told him.

"I love you too, Caitlin Snow!" He gave her a kiss on the head as they continued to watch over their friend.


	8. Chapter 8

"Woo! Let's do this! Barry? Caitlin? Harry?" Cisco called out as he arrived at the cortex the next morning ready to get started with gaining Barry's speed back.

He was stunned to see his friends sitting cuffed and gagged to chairs, standing next to them were Peek-a-boo and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was holding a gun aimed at Cisco.

"That's not what I expected to see coming to work." Cisco said.

"Do you think that we don't know what goes on here?" Shawna's boyfriend said, "I want you to give me powers! Or we'll begin shooting the place down!"

"Clay! Don't…" Shawna pleaded for her boyfriend to stop.  
"Clay is it?" Cisco began, "Why does everyone think that we make meta-humans here? Do we have some kind of sign over STAR Labs saying 'hey we will give you powers and free cookies'? ... Just free my friends, Clay and we won't have a problem."

"Listen to him, please Clay. They are good people!" Shawna said.

But Clay didn't listen, instead he went to shoot at Cisco. Before he could pull the trigger, Shawna took the gun from him and teleported away, hiding it.

Cisco breached himself over to his friends and shot a blast at the binds that held them, freeing them.

"Watch where you send those blasts next time, Ramon!" Harry exclaimed.

"Just be happy that you're safe." Cisco shot back.

"So you freed your friends… but do you know what led us here?" Clay asked them, he didn't give them a chance to answer. "Wally came after us… telling us to turn ourselves in… I've locked him away, and not even Shawna knows where he is."

Shawna reappeared, "Clay… what have you done?" She asked him.

"I knew that I couldn't trust you, baby… that guy Wally is about to die!" Clay said. He walked over to Astrid's bedside where her life support was plugged in. "…as is Shawna's little mentor over here… We know who Astrid really is…"

"Clay, don't!" Shawna pleaded, "You said you wouldn't hurt any of them."

"Well, I lied, baby. These guys have a choice… to either make me powerful… or two innocents will die." Clay said.

"Okay! We'll do it!" Caitlin pleaded. "Just don't hurt either one of them! Please, step away from her bedside, and give us Wally's coordinates."

Barry looked over at Caitlin, "Caitlin, we can't…" Barry began, but she looked back at him, asking him to play along.

"We have a vial of speed serum." Cisco added, "we can give it to you… You'll be just as fast as the Flash. Provided you give us Wally's coordinates."

"Good… that's what I was hoping you would say!" Clay replied. He told them the location of Wally's whereabouts, so Cisco breached his way over there, while Barry went to stand by Astrid's bed.

"DR Wells. Would you mind getting the vial?" Caitlin asked Harry.  
"Sure, Dr Snow." Harry said. He stepped into his office for a moment, leaving Barry and Caitlin in the cortex alone with Clay and Shawna.

Clay grabbed ahold of Caitlin by the arm. "Don't hurt her!" Barry snapped, he attempted to run towards them but Shawna held him back.

DR Wells emerged from his office, and handed Clay a vial of clear liquid.

Clay threw Caitlin violently and took the vial. He opened it and drank. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he snapped at them. "That's just water!" he pulled out a spare gun from his jacket pocket and aimed it at Caitlin, immediately pulling the trigger.

Barry watched the moment that the bullet was released, he felt his heart beat out of his chest. It was now or never. As the bullet was released from the gun, he saw it in slow motion, knowing that his powers had returned. He ran and ran, catching the bullet in his hand as it was inches away from Caitlin's chest.

He threw the bullet to the floor and restrained Clay, cuffing him and leaving him under the watch of CCPD before returning back to STAR Labs.

When Barry returned, Shawna crumbled to the floor in tears and Cisco returned with Wally safe and sound. Caitlin ran to Barry and he held her tightly, relieved that his powers had returned at the right moment.

"So, Barry's speed is back!" Harry said, breaking the silence. "That could have been close."


	9. Chapter 9

Astrid followed the path. All around her she saw images of her friends and everyone she had ever known being injured, tortured and there was nothing that she could do.

Every time she ran towards the situation, the image would disappear before her eyes. She closed her eyes to not see the horrific images, but she could still hear their cries, calling out for her to help them.

She felt as if she were failing them. So she focused on the path before her. Alas, she saw another door ahead of her. She ran towards it and opened it. But the sight that beheld her on the other side of the door was just the same as what she had just come from.

Horrific images that she could do nothing about. Her emotions were beginning to get the better of her. She felt as if she were walking in circles, her hope was fading away. She broke down and cried on her knees. She knew that she was lost within her own mind and that there was no way to break free.

She heard the voices of her friends standing right before her. She looked up to see that their faces were locked on her own. They were ready to attack her. Harry had his thermo-gun aimed at her, Frost and Cisco had their hands raised up ready to blast her, even the Flash was ready to attack her.

As they did, she closed her eyes, waiting for the attack to come.

"Woah!" Cisco exclaimed from in the cortex. "I just got a vibe!" he was standing by Astrid, who was still in her coma. He had been holding her hand, at the time.

"What was it, Cisco?" Caitlin asked him.

"Where ever Astrid is, she's having a pretty hard time. She's seeing a lot of scary things!" he said. Cisco explained to his friends what he had seen in his vision, just as Harry entered the room.

"It's possible that these things that Astrid is seeing is her own way of dealing with the trauma… she could be trying to find her way back to us." Caitlin said.

"But if she is being tortured this much. It could really screw with her mind, when she wakes." Barry replied.

"I'd hate to change the subject, but I looked into the Cadre." Dr Wells said. "They were a group of followers who were given powers by a being not from this world. This being was known as the Overmaster. He considered himself some sort of celestial judge determining which civilizations were considered of use… and for those who weren't… He would destroy!"

"Well, that's grim." Cisco said, "Dios mio! At least it was only a rumor, right?"

"I'm not so sure." Harry replied. "You said earlier that those bracers were wielded to the men's arms… That may be proof that he could exist…"

"So what you're saying is that this alien being could be creating followers to wipe out our entire civilization as we speak?" Barry asked.

"I'm saying that its possible." Dr Wells replied. The group stared at each other in fear.

As the group were distracted, Astrid's arm moved… she begun to cough and as she awoke, she sat up holding her head, which was in so much pain.

"Cisco!" she called out.

His eyes lit up as he turned and held her. "Oh Astrid. I'm glad you're alright!" he said excitedly.

The rest of the group circled around her excitedly. Caitlin begun checking her vitals immediately.

"Hey girl… Did you enjoy your long nap? You sure gave us a scare there!" Cisco said, as he held her tightly. When he finally let go, Astrid looked around her. "Cisco, what happened? Where's my dad?" she asked him.

Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and DR Wells looked at one another and then back at her.

"Astrid, do you know where you are right now?" Cisco asked her.

"My dad's labs… yeah! But who are these guys… and man, why do you look so old?" she asked him.

Cisco looked at her confused, "Astrid… what year do you think it is?" he asked her.

"Don't be stupid! Crap, where are my clothes? Why am I in these lab clothes? and why hasn't anyone answered me as to who these guys are, here?" She said looking from Barry, to Caitlin and then to DR Wells.

"Astrid, we're your friends… don't you remember? Caitlin asked her.

"Umm, sure. You guys don't look like Sara and Oliver? Cisco where's Sara and Oliver? And where the hell is my dad? What the hell is going on here?" she was getting rather frustrated at that point.

Caitlin pulled the group aside to speak with them.

"It looks as if she is suffering from a very strong case of Selective amnesia… Her mind has taken her back to a time, before the meteor shower, possibly when she felt much safer!" Caitlin said.

"Nah, ya think…" Cisco replied sarcastically, "She thinks she's back in high school! Do you know how long this is set to last?"

"I can't say. I'm just glad that she is awake… she defeated the odds. I think right now we should give her some space." Caitlin said to Barry and DR Wells.

"Sure, you do that…" Cisco said angrily, "While I try to work out what to do with that high school version of my girlfriend."

Suddenly, the emergency alert went off. "I'll go deal with that!" Barry replied. He raced to get his suit, as Caitlin and Harry went into another room.

"Oh my god! W-What did he just do?" Astrid screamed out.

Cisco ran back over to her, "that I can explain!"

"Yeah… he seriously just did… whatever the hell he did… and now he's gone… So I think your science explanations would be perfect right now, Cis!" Astrid said.

"He's a superhero, Astrid."

"No way! Seriously?" she asked him, excited.

"Yeah, and the reason you can't remember that is, because you've had an accident. You hurt your head. You were in a coma and you seem to have forgotten the past few years of your life." Cisco said as he sat beside her on the bed.

"You're kidding me, right? Cisco, this isn't the time for jokes… I've woken up in a bed in my dad's building… he's nowhere to be seen and now, you tell me that one of our friends is a superhero? Am I being pranked?" she asked him. "Where's my dad, anyway?"

Cisco stared at her and stoked her hair from her eyes. "Astrid, your father died over a year ago. Somewhere you must remember that."

Her heart broke as a few tears fell down her cheek. He held her close and kissed her on the forehead. "Dude, you have a beard…" she said trying to make a joke. "You're old!"

He laughed as he pulled away from her. "Yeah, I have a beard. You're older too."

He picked up his phone and turned on the reverse camera so she could see herself.

"Wow, I am old." She laughed, touching her face. "So, those guys before… they were our friends? What happened to Ollie and Sara?"

"That… is a long story." Cisco replied.

"Well, how 'bout you explain it to me after you get me my clothes… We really need to think about redesigning these medical gowns." She told him.

Cisco collected her clothes for her from the cupboard and handed them to her.

"You should probably give me some privacy…" Astrid told him, "I mean it would be a little awkward for the both of us, for you to see me naked, right?"

"Sure, I'll give you some privacy." He said as he stepped out and closed the curtain around her.

He found Caitlin and Harry. "She has no idea that we're even together. She is seriously in the mind of her younger self. How long does this generally last?"

"It can vary… But at least she's out of her coma, a little amnesia is to be expected." Caitlin said.

"Do we know if her powers are still intact?" Harry asked them, after a while.

"Well, here's our chance to find out… Oh, Hi… Astrid! Is everything okay?" Cisco asked as she entered the room. She had hemmed up her skirt and left an extra button undone. "I need to go shopping… Do I really dress like this, now? I need to do an overhaul of my wardrobe!"

"Yes, you do. But, if you want me to go shopping with you… I can do that…" Cisco said.

They watched as she put her hand to her head, "Ow! my head… What's going on?" she asked, grimacing in pain and falling to her knees.

The group rushed over to her. She looked at Cisco as he put one hand on her shoulder, and stroked her hair with the other. "You're alright," he told her as he gazed into her eyes.

"Cisco… What is going on with me?" she asked him, "Your voice is in my head."

"Astrid…" Caitlin began, "You can read minds. Over a year ago, you were…" Caitlin stopped talking as she realized that her full attention was on Cisco.

"So, what? Am I hearing your thoughts, Cis?" Astrid asked him.

"Yes… you are…" Cisco said quietly.

"You and I were together, weren't we?" she asked him.

"Yeah we were." He told her.

"I think I'd rather go shopping with… what's her name? This is just too awkward!" Astrid said, pulling away from him.

"Er… My name is Caitlin." Caitlin said.

Cisco took a deep breath and looked at Harry. "So, does that answer your question?" he asked angrily.

Caitlin left the cortex with Astrid, hoping that she could help explain everything to her friend without destroying her mind all the more.


	10. Chapter 10

The Overmaster sat on his throne in his lair, as a woman dressed in a cloak approached him. "Malcom Tandy and John Malone have been caught and sent to prison. Would you like me to free them?" She asked him.

"No, leave them for now. We will keep watch, Nightfall. It would have taken beings with exceptional abilities to apprehend them. Central City just might have what we are looking for. If not… I will wipe them out entirely." He replied.

The hooded figure nodded and left his side.


End file.
